


from the sea

by MementoMoriPontifexMortis



Series: to the seas [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, As The Drabbles Continue, BC Sanji would still smoke even if he was a girl, Drabble Collection, Female Vinsmoke Sanji, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Underage Smoking, Zeff's Non-Canon Backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-02-28 01:11:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13260459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MementoMoriPontifexMortis/pseuds/MementoMoriPontifexMortis
Summary: He had been planning on leaving, setting up his floating restaurant and forgetting everything about the hellhole that was the Rock, but it was hard to do when he had the biggest reminder of them all: the little girl he had been stuck with.(drabble series)





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TinyTeddy878](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyTeddy878/gifts).



> this is a drabble series??? that i started 2 years ago and did nothing with. i'll post a chapter a week and might even write new chapters for this since it's an adorable series that i started. dedicated to tinyteddy878 who keeps telling me to "write/post/do it" whenever i ask her not to. keep being the devil on my shoulder!

He had been planning on leaving, setting up his floating restaurant and forgetting everything about the hellhole that was the Rock, but it was hard to do when he had the biggest reminder of them all: the little girl he had been stuck with. She hadn’t a home, at least, if she did, she wasn’t talking, and he couldn’t just let them take her to one of the orphanages on the closest island. She was scared and scarred from the same experience he just went through and she held secrets that he wanted to try and figure out. 

But he wasn’t parental enough to take care of a young child such as herself, much less a girl child. She needed a mother figure and maybe if she did got to an orphanage, she would be able to find a family that would love her and help her overcome her problems. She might get taken in by a family with a little sibling for her to boss around and loving parents that would comfort her when her nightmares terrorized her. It was tempting to leave her, to let them take her, but before he could stop himself, he was saying that he was her guardian and that they had to get home. 

The doctors at the island hospital wouldn’t let them leave right away though, he had healed up pretty quickly, at least, quick enough that they were relinquishing their hold on him, but the little girl still needed to stay there. She was still too thin, too unhealthy and they wanted to keep her longer. She didn’t want to stay though, she fought them and him all the way. She hated having to stay in the hospital and whenever Zeff asked her why, she clammed up. She held her silence better than most pirates did. 

“Hey, Eggplant,” he said, the nickname rolling off his tongue as he waited for her greeting grunt. She hated the name, but refused to give him hers, so it was staying. 

“Hm,” she turned away from him, “’snot my name.” 

“You won’t tell me your name, so that’s your name, Eggplant.” 

He sat down in the chair next to her bed and pulled out a newspaper from the island. He had a daily routine of grabbing breakfast at dawn, talking to the locals until lunch and then spending the rest of the day in the hospital at Eggplant’s bedside, reading the newspaper. The girl never really spoke during that time, just listened to him reading out random things that he found interesting and ignoring his questions. 

“Oh look, puppies for sale,” he said, grinning from ear to ear, “Ever have a puppy?” 

She said nothing and so he continued his perusal, the words not really interesting him. Yesterday’s paper had been interesting; there had been a festival the day before and yesterday, the paper ran article after article talking about what had happened and the entire history of it. He had fun reading the entire thing to her, knowing that it had bored her well enough that she had fallen asleep hours before she usually did. 

“I had a puppy once. He grew into this great hound dog that got lost when there was this huge storm when I was a teenager. I missed him greatly,” Zeff explained, laughing as he did, “My mother hated him so much, thought he was too much work but when he was gone, she missed him more than I did.”

Eggplant frowned but didn’t turn to look at him. 

He continued his story, “We searched all over for him, but we never found him, it was disappointing. We talked about getting another dog, but it just didn’t feel right.” 

He finished with a sigh. They fell into silence, the only sound the flipping of the pages. He worried about taking her home, the doctors were saying she was getting stronger and healthier and that it’d be any week that she’d be well enough to take home. Not that they had a home to return to. His home was his ship and he lost that. 

Rustling filled the room as he continued to look through the classified pages. He was always looking for a boat to take them away and to an island with actual people on it, but it seemed as if they didn’t really get many visitors. The ship that brought them there only ran once every three months and it wasn’t going to be showing up for another two months which left them two months overstaying the welcome they had gotten. 

“We weren’t allowed pets.” 

He dropped the newspaper a bit, “What did you say, Eggplant?” 

She had turned to face him, her bright blue eye staring at him. “We weren’t allowed pets,” she repeated. 

“Huh,” he muttered, “Shame about that. Pets teach kids responsibility.”

“And stop calling me that, you shitty geezer,” she said, turning on her side. “’s name Sanju.” 

“Hm, whatever. Eggplant’s a better name anyway,” he grinned though, “Got any idea on how we’re getting off this island, Sanju?” 


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sometimes nightmares happen and it takes a little bit of comfort to deal with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shows up one hundred years later with an outdated meme and three day old make up* tada! the second chapter. sorry for sucking. i hope you all like it. forgive me for disappearing. i lost all the previous chapters of this drabble thing and so if you guys want to suggest any, i'll accept!
> 
> slight angst is ahead but is definitely followed by comfort!!!

He woke with a nightmare, two hours after falling asleep, the sounds of the ocean dragging him down into the waves that held his wrecked home. The girl was the only reason he awoke, her harsh words as she shook him pulled him up and out of the water and back to the island. He blinked at her, confusion in his eyes as she glared at him. 

“Eggplant?” He asked, “What are you doing up?”

“You were making noises,” she admitted, her blue eyes were wide and scared as she did so, the slightly bigger than her pajamas that a woman on the island gave her before they left hanging off her frame. “I thought you were-” 

She doesn’t say it but he could guess where her thoughts went. Sighing, he sat up, the peg leg tapped lightly against the floor of the boat. She moved back a bit, warily watching him. 

“I’m fine, little one,” he said as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and patted her head. 

In the two months that they had spent on the island waiting for the ship to show back up, Zeff hadn’t dealt with any nightmare of his own – Sanju’s, yes, but his dreams had been pretty easy but in the days that they had spent at sea, he had found himself tossing and turning, dreaming that they were still on the Rock. Still starving and lost at sea. 

He supposed it was because they were back at sea and they were traveling on a ship that wasn’t his own and he didn’t have any control over, but he tried not to dwell on any of that. It would only be a few more days before they were going to be at an island where they sold boats and other supplies. That’s all he had to deal with. A few more days. 

“You’re an idiot,” The girl said, frowning as she moved to sit next to him. Zeff gave her a glare, but she brushed it off instead of cowering and going back to her bed. 

“Why now, Eggplant?” He asked after she got herself comfortable laying on his pillow. She didn’t answer, instead fell back to sleep, leaving him to lean up against the wall. Her bed was far too small, something far more akin to a cot, which made since given she was a child, but it did limit him when she decided that his spot was more comfortable and she refused to leave. Zeff stared at her, blinking lightly and letting out a soft laugh. 

She seemed to be getting more comfortable around him, which he was thankful of. He wasn’t sure what had happened to her before he found her, but he was sure that it wasn’t anything nice given how she reacted to simple things. Closing his eyes, he listened to her soft breathing and thought of their future. 

“People’ll be able to find the our restaurant from anywhere in the East Blue,” he muttered, nodding his head. “It’ll be so distinctive looking that nobody’d be able to miss it.” 

“Can it be fish shaped?” Her voice asked, soft in the dark room. “Fish shaped is distinct.” 

He laughed again, “It is. And I’ll teach you how to be the best chef.” 

“And we’ll serve anyone who needs food.” 

Zeff nodded, even if he didn’t need to. She wasn’t asking him if they were, she was telling. Not that he’d disagree. Even before the Rock, he would never take the food off another ship; it was the lowest of lows to leave anyone to starve and he knew the feeling of starving thanks to his childhood. His poor mother tried her hardest to keep them from having to feel the pull of their stomachs but their island was small and poor; the marine base that lived there was ruled by a greedy man who was no better than a tyrant. 

“We’ll serve anyone who comes by,” he said, a slight frown growing on his face. 

Pirates and other uncivilized folks would arrive wherever they put their little restaurant and that meant that when Sanju got older, she’d have to know how to defend herself. He never actually had a woman on his ship due to his disciplinary style and while he would be loathed to teach her as if she was a boy, he couldn’t figure a different way to. She was like him, the little Eggplant, which meant that she’d be a good candidate to pass on his fighting techniques to, but she was a girl and he never fought against women. 

“You’re being stupid again, shitty geezer,” she muttered, sounding exactly as she did when she mentioned the fish shaped restaurant; wide awake with a hint of teasing. 

He harrumphed, “You’re going to have to learn how to fight off any shitty customers.” She stiffened but he ignored it and continued, “You’re such a string bean though so maybe you can just stay in the kitchen.” 

She kicked him, hard. “I can fight!” 

“Ah yes, I do remember you coming at me with a pair of knives,” Zeff grinned, turning to her, “Knives are for cooking, so we’ll not be teaching you with those.” 

“…just for cooking?” 

Her quiet voice threw him slightly before he nodded, “Knives are utensils for feeding a person, they aren’t for attacking or fighting. I won’t have you turning out to be a disgrace of a chef for using the utensils you use for cooking to fight.” 

Sharp words but they apparently brought comfort to the little blonde as she shifted slightly in the bed. 

Silence befell the room, Zeff drifted back into his thoughts, but this time they weren’t consumed with dead little Eggplants, all skin and bones or the Rock that almost killed him and took his leg or the nightmare that was losing his crew and ship all in one fell swoop, it was on the future and his new crew that only consisted of this broken little girl and himself. 

Smiling softly, he whispered, “Thank you, Eggplant.” 

She was a little rough around the edges, but she did know how to comfort him when his thoughts got too much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you all liked it, comment and kudos, i love you all. remember leave suggestions for later chapters. next chapter - whenever it'll be up - will have to do with sanju's training so yay!!


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> to market they go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look at me updating and not taking six years, please don't get used to this. anyway, hope it's okay that this has nothing to do with her training, i just really wanted to write this cute little thing. anyway, next one definitely will have to do with her training and then who knows. also i've got other stories about zeff and sanju in the works but this one will stay as the forefront. anyway any mistakes are my own.

With the shipwright building the restaurant, they’ve decided to look around the small island. It wasn’t one that Zeff recognized himself, which meant it wasn’t one he visited which was good because he still had a bounty out on his head. Still, he and Sanju were keeping a low profile. Well as low as a man with a child could in a market full of sharks.

“How about this?” she asked, holding up a set of cabbages.

Moving forward, he grabbed them from her hands and checked them, nodding when he found them more than suitable. A smile split her face as he reached to pay the seller. He had been teaching her the basics of cooking and had found that she was a quick learner, taking his words to heart as he taught her to determine if a food item was good or bad.

He patted her head, much to her consternation, before she ran off ahead of him. Zeff gave the seller a small nod before following her as fast as he could. Which wasn’t as fast as he liked; the doctor on the island had said that until he got fully used to his leg he would be at a disadvantage, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t push it.

Quickening his steps as Sanju’s blonde head disappeared behind a crowd of people, he pushed down on the bit of worry that followed – despite the lie they were telling anyone who asked, he was not and never would be the girl’s father – and focused on listening. Over the calls of the stall owners, the kids playing on the streets and the rumble of the overall voices, he could hear her questioning someone. Her voice was careful, but not in the sense of a child who was scared to say something wrong, rather in the way of someone well practiced in speaking.

It surprised him given that his little Eggplant had spent a month ignoring him and the other two months barely speaking to anyone on the first island. Now on this bigger island, she spoke and she snipped at him, pushed his hand off her head, pouted and acted like a child. The change was welcomed but at the same time confusing for him.

“Eggplant,” he said as he moved to stand next to her, his voice disapproving.

She huffed, “S’not my name.”

Zeff shook his head, “Don’t run ahead so quickly,” he said placing his hand on her head again before looking at the wares offered. Cookware littered the table, some of it not as fine as he was used to, but others better than anything he had been able to afford when he was still a pirate. He gave each item a small look over, paying more attention to the better items.

“Your daughter has fine taste,” the stall owner said, giving a quick smile to Sanju. “She immediately zeroed in on these very fine knives.”

He wasn’t wrong. The knife set was fine, close to what he had used on his ship but not as expensive. It was a complete set, something any chef would be jealous of and the wood used to make the handles kept it’s grip even when wet.

Zeff turned to Sanju, “Go ahead, pick it up.”

Sanju’s blue eyes widened, just like the owner.

“Sir!” The man said, seemingly outraged at the idea that he would even think about buying such knives for a child. “These knives are for accomplished chefs, not beginners.”

Zeff silenced him with a glare, turning back to face Sanju. “The only way to know if these are good knives for you is if you can handle them comfortably, so go on.”

Her hands reach out, slow but steady and she grasps the knife’s handle, her fingers going white around it. Slowly he reached over and fixed her grip, the way a chef would hold a knife and not like a miniature assassin would. She relaxed, nodding as she moved her hand around.

“How does it feel?”

Sanju bit her lip, confusion on her face. “I like it.”

He nodded again, grabbing the knife from her to check the balance of it before looking to the owner, “We’ll take the whole set.”

The man gaped and Zeff could understand. The knife set they were getting was one that an accomplished chef would by after scrounging money for years, not one that one would – or should actually – buy for their daughter on what looked like to be a whim. But Zeff knew better. This set would be the one she used for most of her life, only getting a new handle affixed on it when she outgrew it. His eyes stared the man down until the man nodded, wrapping the knives up in a roll and handing it to Sanju as Zeff paid the man. She cradled it to her chest, a look of pure joy on her face.

But it was when she tilted her head upwards and gave him a smile, he knew that he had done right. “You have the sense to take care of those, okay Eggplant.”

She nodded, but said nothing as they walked away from the vendor and back into the fray. Zeff kept a hand on her head, the other grasping the bag that held the supplies they had picked up, as he started talking. “The shipwright is wonderin’ what we’re going to call the restaurant.”

“Baratie.” Sanju said simply, her eyes following the vendors. Despite her lack of interest in everything, she had the bad habit of staring at the stalls. He’d have to teach her how to go shopping properly; her wandering eyes showed vendors that they had an easy target and he’d be damned if any cook of his was going to be considered an easy target. Shaking his head, he moved her head to face ahead.

“Anything else you need?” he asked. He knew he still had to take her shopping for clothing, but so far Sanju seemed content in the clothing she owned. He was pretty glad about that as taking her shopping was something he actually felt dread about.

Her face blanked, something he had learned meant she was thinking, as they made their way from the market to the small rental they were living in while they waited for the Baratie to be made.

“A cookbook?” she suggested after a moment.

He shook his head, “Got all the recipes you’ll need to learn in my head, but we will need one of those fancy books about all the fish in the seas.”

She shrugged and that was the end of the conversation, her attention drawn away from him as he moved to put things away in the abysmal kitchen. She sat at the small table, hand stroking the handles reverently. “I always wanted my own knife set, but I wasn’t allowed one on the Orbit.”

The Orbit? Zeff figured that was the name of the ship he had attacked and found her on. “I didn’t get my own knife set until I was in my late teens,” he said, “It’s not everyday that someone gets a baby eggplant a set.”

“Shitty geezer,” she mumbled, looking down with a bright glint in her eyes. “I’m not an eggplant.”

“Hm, seems like one to me,” Zeff grinned, “Now, come help prepare dinner, I’m an old man and I can’t do it alone.”

She stood up quickly, ignoring his words besides the dinner part and moved to the kitchen without her chef’s roll. He gave her a look and she turned back, grabbing it sheepishly.

“A good chef never goes anywhere without his knives.”

“Got it.”

“Let’s move onto julienne cuts since we’ve got cabbage and can make some nice cabbage and bacon salad.” Moving to grab the chef’s knife from her roll, he told her to wash the cabbage and bring out the bacon, watching as she moved. She was made for the kitchen, he was sure of it. Sure she needed training, but she’d be a better cook in half the time than it took most, of that he was positive. If a bit of pride swelled in his chest, well, Zeff wouldn’t admit it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember kudos and leave suggestions for chapters of things you want to see! i love hearing them!


	4. four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it looked like she wasn't going to get an answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so a v rare never going to be seen again double update today because chapter four and chapter five sort of interconnect. also while chapter five has some of zeff's feelings on training her and chapter four mentions sanju getting her training already, nothing in depth yet but hopefully this will tide you all over. honestly so far these are my two favourite chapters. 
> 
> *small disclaimer, chapters four and five are heavily influenced by my own headcanons for zeff and his backstory, including his parents and names of his crewmates. these things belong to me please don't take my headcanons. also it's sort dark and could be a bit triggering, nothing worse than the things we see in the source material but still!

“Shitty geezer,” Sanju mumbled as she made her way through the Baratie, her feet near silent on the wooden planks. Since it was still just her and Zeff, they had to wake early to get the food prepared so they could open on time and she had yet to get used to it. It didn’t help that her head still hurt from where the geezer had kicked her upside the head during their last training morning.

While Zeff was better than her family, he at least seemed to care about her and didn’t like hitting her, she still wished she could be non-violent. If she could live a life where she never had to use violence, she would live a happy one. But as Zeff had pointed out, that was a dream that many wished for but found out was impossible. Even if she never set out for the All-Blue, she would still need to know how to defend herself from any rowdy patrons.

Rubbing her head once more, she entered the kitchen, going for the sink to wash her hands.

“You’re late,” The geezer said as she washed her hands. “You’re going to have to run the floor today, Eggplant.”

Her nostrils flared. She hated pretending to be a waiter when she was a chef. “I don’t wanna,” She argued, standing with her hands on her hips. He laughed at her and she dodged another kick. “Stop kicking me, shitty geezer!”

“Watch your mouth!”

Another glare before she made her way to her station where there were potatoes to peel and chop. She didn’t get the old man, he was always telling her that women should be respected, but then he’d turn right around and kick her upside the head for being bad. Sure she was glad that she was learning a much different fighting style then the one used by her – by the Vinsmokes, but she didn’t like the fact that she’d probably gain brain damage before she hit a teenager.

Of course, the training wasn’t all just dodging his kicks – or at least attempting to dodge his kicks and failing miserably – running was involved and so was daily swims after they closed up and Sanju liked those, those were fun.

“Getting better,” he said above her, causing her to jump slightly. For an old man with a peg-leg he was near silent and it bugged her.

“When am I going to learn how to be so silent?” she asked, huffing slightly. His hand ruffled her hair, something she disliked greatly, and he laughed again.

“When you learn to listen, Eggplant.”

She pushed his hand away, turned to face him with a scowl on her face, “Stop calling me that, geezer!”

Zeff laughed again, grinning at her as he went back to prep work. Despite there being other cooks in the restaurant, it seemed to always be just her and him during morning time. Licking her lips, Sanju waited until the silence lasted long enough to open her mouth.

“Have you ever had to use your hands to… to hurt others?”

Images of the things she learned, or attempted to learn while still with them, flashed before her eyes as she waited for the leaky faucet to be spoken over. Or for another hit to be aimed towards her. Sanju didn’t know why she asked but she felt like she had to. Zeff talked on and on about how hands were a chef’s greatest treasure, how the hands were tools for cooking only and never for harming others, but there was no ways the stories of his time on the Grand Line were true if he never picked up a weapon. At least, she couldn’t believe them.

Zeff’s hands continued chopping, the quiet thuds overwhelmed by the faucet and for a moment, more than one actually, Sanju was sure he wasn’t going to answer her.

“Did I ever tell you why I developed my fighting skills, Little Eggplant?” he asked, his voice a soft rumble.

She shook her head.

“When I was no older than 17, my parents went to the market on the farther side of our village to sell the products we had earned when a pirate crew landed,” he cleared his throat and stared down at the food, turning what was supposed to be julienne peppers into diced peppers. “My father wasn’t around much, he was a sailor; one step above pirate, one below marine in my days, and he loved the ocean blue, taught me all about the All Blue.”

Zeff turned towards her after pushing his knife down onto the counter, wiping his hands on his apron. “During those times, pirates were different, people’s reactions to pirates were different. Especially where I grew up. If a pirate crew decided to dock, my village greeted them with open arms; feeding them, throwing veritable parties for them. We had all grown up with the romance ideas of Rogers and his One Piece and we looked out for those who decided to sail the seas looking for it, even if they had never once set foot on our village beforehand.”

He sighed, leaning against the counter, a sad look on his face and Sanju felt a weird pull in her stomach. Like she was going to regret asking.

“But the pirates who landed were cold and cruel, they stole lives as quickly as they came, leaving families torn asunder.”

“Did they…?” Her voice wobbled and died out. She regretted asking. She really did.

Zeff nodded softly, “My parents were slaughtered by a sword wielding maniac, hacked into pieces and left to rot while the pirates stole the woman and children from their burning homes.”

“I’m sorry.” And she was.

“I know, Little Eggplant,” Zeff crossed his arms, “But the story doesn’t end there.”

Sanju turned to look at him, frowning. “It doesn’t?”

“I set out for the oceans myself a few years later, throwing all the money I had gained from joining a restaurant after my parents died into buying a small ship for myself which I then traded in to get good ol’ Cooking George. I got myself a very strong pirate crew, played around in the East Blue for a bit to earn us a name and then set off to the Grand Line where I knew the pirate crew who killed my parents would be. It took us six months of our journey to find them.”

“And then what?”

He looked away from her, an emotion she didn’t flashed across his face. For a second, it reminded her of the look Judge had given her the day her mother had died, but even then she wasn’t sure what it was.

Sanju held her breath, the oppressive silence of the kitchen overwhelming her. Another second passed and then she heard the shuffling of the other chefs making their way down the stairs and Zeff gave her a lopsided grin, before going back to working on the vegetables. She huffed another noise before going back to her own workstation.

It looked like she wasn't going to get an answer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you think about both chapters please and thank you! i love comments and feedback because they always make me inspirational - i'm like a sim like that.


	5. five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> he didn't know how to answer her without breaking her heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay second part. more angst, bits of fluff at the bottom, nothing graphic in the sense of murder or anything. no real violence besides zeff's parenting. we also get more of my headcanoned background for zeff, so the previous disclaimer stands: while i don't own one piece or the characters of zeff or sanji, i do own zeff's parents and his mentioned pirate mates in this chapter. please don't take. 
> 
> don't forget to leave your thoughts for later chapters!

Her question had thrown him, more so than the night after the first time he gave her tough love and hit her upside the head with his leg. It was not a question he had been expecting, maybe something about why it seemed as if the only chefs that managed to stick around was her and him or why he was far more picky with picking out the female staff compared to the male staff - as he had had trouble explaining it while teaching her how to go through the small stack of resumes they had received from the last island they went to.

He never expected such a blunt question. And he wasn’t prepared to answer it so truthfully, but Zeff couldn’t bring himself to lie to her.

She had grown so much in the months that he had spent training her in either fighting skills or cooking, but the usual answer he had given when he talked about his reasoning for fighting with his legs was often “a chef of the seas doesn’t use their hands,”. But with her soft voice he had opened up, even if it was just a bit and didn’t fully answer her question.

He hadn’t wanted to tell her that sometimes you met with moments that changed you for the better or for the worse. One of those days had been the day he had met his parents killer out on the Grand Line and instead of using the skills he had gained and taught himself, he had grabbed the bastard’s swords and cut him into shreds, gaining a cut on his forearm that his doctor had said could’ve destroyed his ability to cook if it had been any deeper, but it was in that moment that he felt he had truly done the right thing as his parents child. Even if as a person, it wasn’t.

It was that day that had changed him for the worse, even if it was just slightly.

But, then again, he thought to himself, a day that changed him for the better was when he had gained the Little Eggplant who was as loyal as they came and was one of the few people who shared his dream. Something not even his friends and crew believed in. Even if her becoming a part of his life had made it a bit more troublesome, especially when it came to having to train her due to the violent nature of owning a restaurant on the seas, it had changed it for the better; giving him someone else to focus on.

As Shichirou had said while bandaging him up after one of their legendary fights on the Grand Line, he could be a very selfish man when he wanted to be and it was only because he was such a man as he was – one that could be easily respected and followed, knowing that he cared about his crew in his own way – the rest of the crew had yet to mutiny when it came to following his dream.

Rubbing his face with one of his wrinkling hands, he wondered when did age finally catch up to him? He wasn’t even forty yet and he had himself a child and had retired from his piracy days and had seemingly given up on the All Blue.

What would Shichirou say in such a situation? The man had been a parent himself who had lost his family and had become a pirate for a similar reason as Zeff had – revenge. So what would he say when up against a small girl child with more fierceness in her bones than most men? Who had stood up against a crew up pirates with two cooking knives and a fiery will to survive?

“You’re an idiot Zeff, and I say that as both your doctor and your unofficial psychiatrist.”

He would’ve kicked the doctor upside his head and given him the job to help clean the canons. But the man would’ve been right.

Leaning against the railing on the balcony, he wondered when he wandered from the main floor to the upstairs. He hadn’t heard Sanju complaining that he was leaving her to work alone, but at the same time, she often followed him around like an earnest bee, trying to learn all that she could by watching him.

The ocean called to him, it always had and always would, he was sure of it, but it wasn’t the same call that he remembered it being as a child, one that had driven him to a fervor he hadn't truly understood back then. It was a gentle call, the same his mother had used whenever he spent to many hours watching the moon cross the open sky, unhindered by everything.

A grin crossed his face, when he ignored his mother to instead sit out at all hours, she’d kick him upside the head, telling him off for ignoring her. She had been the one who taught him the basic moves he had based his entire Black Leg style fighting after, she had taught him to respect women. She had even taught him the life lesson he so desperately wanted Sanju to never learn: sometimes life will give you a lesson that will change your entire way of thinking and go against everything you have ever learned.

It seemed as if his moods were going to keep flipping between good and bad, he thought as he sighed. His mother had never taught him to be a wide-eyed idealist, his father had taught him about the All Blue while his mother had told his father that he was a naive man for falling for such a dream. He could remember his father's reply so clearly in his head, “Well Mahira, you’re the one who fell in love with me”.

His mother would smack him upside the head, but she’d give him a look so fond, that he wondered if there was any true anger behind her kicks when it came to his father.

“Shitty Geezer?” Sanju pulled him out of his thoughts, a look on her face. She had a bump on her head from where he had hit her with his peg leg, but she hardly paid attention to it – and maybe it was high time he stopped himself from thinking on it far too much.

“Where are you learning this language?” he asked as he motioned for her to come stand next to him.

She rolled her eyes but he opted to ignore her, “You said you would teach me navigation after I cleaned up since tonight’s so clear.”

He had, hadn’t he? He barely functioned during the morning which was the time she managed to sneak in requests that he couldn't turn down; teaching her the stars, telling her all about the sights he had seen in the Grand Line, teaching her handstands so she could, and he quoted her one this, “become stronger”.

A smile stretched on his face, “A little eggplant like you won’t learn it all tonight but I’m sure we can attempt it!”

She huffed and kicked his good leg, “You don’t have to be such a bastard!”

“And you should listen to me Eggplant when I tell you smoking is bad for you!” he said, kicking her in the butt as he turned to walk away from his perch. “You’ll dull your senses!”

“Tch,” She shook her head, a grin growing on her lips as she walked, “An old man like you won’t understand but it makes me look cool!”

“It makes you look like you have no common sense and are being raised in a barn!”

“Hey, don’t insult Baratie, she’s much better than a barn!” Sanju shot, shaking her head again. “It looks like your mind is going, Shitty Geezer!”

“My mind can still remember what a little brat you are, Eggplant!” He ruffled her hair, it was getting longer and he’d have to ask her if she wanted it cut a bit before it got too long and tangled, given that she barely liked brushing it, instead putting the mess up in a bun. “Now walk faster, I’m an old man and you’ve got a bedtime!”

“Ha! Told you so!”

He kicked her backside again, her flying through the open door and down to the bottom floor, “Do you want to do another midnight swim?”

Zeff listened closely to her, hearing the sound of her sticking out her tongue at her and taunting him. His mother would proud of her and proud of him for teaching her the skills and life lessons that she would need to continue. Life was big on throwing curves and this girl, this girl who changed everything he had believed in and shared a foolish dream with him, was his biggest curve yet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't start smoking because you think its cool okay, its a bad reason, not that there is a good one, but who am i to judge someone's bad habit when mine is genderbending fictional characters???
> 
> so zeff's name can be based in hebrew so i decided to give his parents hebrew names as well - though you only get his mum's name, Mahira, but he's dad's name is Ohev and they have slightly meaningfulness to them. Mahira means swift, capable while Ohev means he loves. i liked them, liked the meaning behind them ( as long as the baby naming site and the freaking research i did didn't lie ) and i hope you guys do too. also shichirou was the doctor and unofficial tailor for the cooking george at least in my world and i'm kinda working on a fic where the cooking george's crew is a little more center stage. anyway comment and kudos, i love getting them and i love you all!


	6. six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's got a headache, he doesn't think it's going away any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just light and fun and completely thanks to @chameleon_feet who gave the idea of Sanju and Zeff meeting Patty and Carne for the first time. Again, we also thank TinyTeddy for beta-ing this. 
> 
> And, if you want to find me on tumblr I'm at my brand new One Piece writing blog, @thegrandline, where I'll be posting writing prompts and snippets from fics I've not yet published. I'll take prompts and any type of interaction so if you ever have any questions, go ask me there!

“That was the last chef,” Sanju said as they watched the boat disappear off the horizon, a quiet despair sitting between the two of them. 

“I know, Eggplant,” Zeff replied, sighing lightly. 

The Baratie seemed to always be filled with the unsavory sort, only occasionally getting patrons that weren’t bandits or pirates. He was sure that later after they got better reviews they would be able to boast about their patrons but at the moment, all Zeff could do was watch his chefs and waiters disappear after being attacked or assaulted. 

He couldn’t blame them but at the same time, he was wondering if he should add on the flyer a warning that anyone who couldn’t handle rough patrons were going to be automatically denied. He placed a hand on her head, turning her slightly. “Back to double duty.” 

The blonde girl frowned and sighed before moving towards the kitchen to get started on preparations for the week. Normally they only prepared what they needed for that day, they liked their ingredients fresh and never frozen, but that wasn’t going to be something they’d be able to do while it was just them two. If just one chef or waiter had stayed instead of running off because of a group of roughhousing starter pirates had wreaked havoc for a few hours yesterday, they’d be able to continue on with their normal routine but, no, they all left. 

Knives hit the chopping board, the sound of Zeff’s pro-cutting skills blocking out Sanju’s less smooth chops and Zeff focused on the soft music playing from the dining area instead of the angry curse filled mutterings from his sous chef. 

She had picked up brand new words from the pirates that had been visiting more recently, seeing that the Baratie was a great place to stock up on food before heading to another island to terrorize or whatever and whenever Zeff scolded her, he had to resist the urge to clean her mouth out with soap. Though at the moment, he’d give her a free pass for saying what he wanted to say as well. 

… _ pansies _ . 

“Next chefs who show up go a round with you before we hire them,” Sanju said after they finished Tuesday’s preparations, blue eyes furrowed in anger. “I’m not dealing with anymore useless people-” 

“Hey, anybody there?!” The door slammed open, two men stood at the, one holding out the wanted ad, the other pulling down a pair of sunglasses. “This the place owned by Red Leg Zeff?” 

“The one wanting tuff cooks?” 

Sanju turned to him and Zeff felt his headache grow. He returned to his cutting board, “Be the rogues or jail breakers, if they badly need to eat and find their way to this restaurant, we’ll feed them until they’re stuffed,” Zeff started, turning a glare onto them, “Can you handle that?”

The two immediately straightened up, saluting him and he heard Sanju stifle a laugh. He instructed them to go wash up and buckle their shirts upwards before turning towards his.. ward. 

“Don’t be rude Eggplant, we don’t want them being scared off because of a fowl-mouthed little chibi do we?” 

“Well if they can get scared off by me...” She let her sentence die, giving him a shit eating grin. He really needed to have her not work the main floor, she was picking up bad habits after bad habits; the smoking, the swearing, the knife games – it was like she was a tiny pirate. Not a child. 

“Little Eggplant!” He scolded her, aiming for her head and watching as she dodged the first kick but not the second one. She swore – he was washing out her mouth later – before glaring at him. 

“Shitty geezer, why’d you hit me?” 

“Reporting to duty!” The two men said as they came back in. 

Sanju turned towards them, lifting an eyebrow before turning back to her own station. Zeff pointed them to an empty workstation, giving them a simple soup to prepare so he could judge how good they were. He watched them, an eagle eye judging them based on their form, ability to cut and dice and stir – he was very picky, Sanju had told him that multiple time and so had his former crew, but as he always replied, there was nothing wrong of being decisive. 

“You’re cutting wrong,” He heard Sanju muttered as she walked past Patty, the taller of the two. He could see a small smirk on her face, blue eye twinkling mischievously. Zeff felt a headache growing and he went to scold her when he heard Patty’s reply. 

“What does a little french fry know about cooking?!” The annoyance in the man’s voice was edged with actual confusion as to who his little Eggplant was. 

There was a rustle and Zeff knew without turning that Sanju had crossed her arms against her chest as was glaring. “I’m the sous chef.” 

“YOU?!” They both yelled. 

Yeah, he had a headache and he figured that it wasn’t going away anytime soon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this! Remember I love feedback and suggestions for later chapters so don't forget to kudos and comment!


	7. seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zeff nearly has a heart attack when he notices Sanju growing up, also he reflects on things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> where have i been???? lost in writer's block, it's a shit place. anyway, i am so so so so _so_ sorry that i've not updated in so long. i've got half a dozen half written drabbles in this google doc folder and this was the only one i could finish without wanting to pull my hair out. i do hope you enjoy it because i actually quite like it.

“I don’t know, I think he’s cute.” Zeff felt his heart skip several beats and wondered if his life was at the end when Sanju continued speaking, “Also look, he has a cat, isn’t it so adorable?”

A breath released from his lungs and he sighed, “What would we do with a cat?” he asked as he pushed that waiter’s resume far far away from him. Though Sanju seemed more focused on the cat in the picture, he couldn’t forget the fact that she thought that guy was cute. She was far too young to think things were cute, unless they were the stuff animals that the others chefs bought her.

“Take care of it – didn’t you say that having a pet was a form of teaching responsibility to kids?” She shot his words back to him and Zeff resisted the urge to huff in annoyance. Just like any child, she only heard what he was saying when she wanted.

“We’re in the middle of the ocean, little Eggplant, the cat wouldn’t like it.”

She huffed, a sad noise but he wasn’t going to give her what she wanted because she batted her eyes. Others would, he was sure of it, but he wasn’t going to teach her to use her pretty face. She rolled her eyes before dropping the application and moving on. Zeff gave her one last look before letting his mind drift.

She’d be having a birthday soon, a year older meant a year closer to the age where she’d want to date or find boys – and/or girls – attractive and then what?

Zeff, and the rest of the Baratie, wouldn’t survive, he was sure of it. He could tell she’d be a looker when she got older and the Baratie wasn’t a respectable restaurant where the waitstaff could walk around and be sure to never get harassed and though Sanju dressed very respectfully – especially for a twelve year old – the type of patrons they got didn’t care. Her age was the only barrier between the people and any form of violence against her, and that was just barely.

The idea that someone would hurt his Eggplant brought a wave of anger forefront that he just barely manage to push down.

In the years since the Rock, Zeff could admit that the child he had been stuck with had grown on him and whenever they stopped at a market and someone called them father and daughter, he never corrected them. So if he got that paternal anger whenever the thought of his daughter growing up and doing things a teenager did, it could hardly be unexpected. Yet it still didn't stop the bit of guilt he felt whenever he did call her his kid.

Him taking her in had stopped her from gaining a real family - if he hadn’t stolen her from hers when his crew had boarded the cruise ship she had been on - and he often felt that he had no right to call her his.

Shaking those thoughts from his head, he focused on going through another resume. She never complained, at least not truly complained, about him raising her or the people thinking they were family, so why should he focus on it? If she truly had family out there, they had done no searching for her and if they had died when the cruise ship went down, she never mentioned them.

“Wished we could hire women here,” Sanju muttered, rolling her eyes as he passed over a waitress. “Least I wouldn’t be alone.”

“You’re not alone, Eggplant,” Zeff said, on rote.

This was far from the first time she had mentioned it. And he truly did feel bad, but as he had explained to her - _many times_ \- he refused to bring a woman on a restaurant that could sometimes double as the most rowdy pirate ship. She was one thing, she could fight for herself and had never learned any of societal rules (she had kicked him and called him a liar - proving his point fairly quickly) that women often did.

He also explained that she was the only exception to his personal rule of never hitting a lady and that was only so she could continue the Black Leg style of fighting.

“Hm,” she rolled her eyes, moving a resume away from her. “I’d feel less alone with a pet.”

“Sanju.”

He watched as she straightened up, blue eyes wide. He never called her by her name, not really, preferring to instead call her Eggplant or Lil Eggplant, but the few times that he did was when he wanted to make sure he got his point across.

“Sorry,” she muttered, her eyes downcast.

He felt bad, he truly did. She was for the most part alone on the Baratie, trapped, and he didn’t want that for her. “If you behave, next island trip you can pick up a bird or something.”

“Birds are food.”

Everything was food in her eyes. Zeff rolled his eyes, eyes never leaving the page as he said, “Don’t eat it and it won’t be.”

He could completely feel her smile, it was that bright. He wasn’t spoiling her, he wasn’t. He was going to teach her what different behaviors led to. Good behaviors gave her rewards, bad behaviors got her scoldings and being told to swim at night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are always appreciated, so are kudos. remember that in your comments you can prompt me something you want to see in this story! and in that same vein, i created a personal prompt meme ([RIGHT HERE](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/BubblesPersonalPromptMeme)) on this site where you can prompt me story ideas that you'd like to see me write! head on over there and do that if you please! also, as always, you can find me on tumblr on thegrandline.tumblr.com even tho it looks like i'm never there. i'm just playing around in my theme because i'm awkward!

**Author's Note:**

> comment and kudos. if you have a drabble idea tell me and i might write it!


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